The notion that a disinterested God created the world and does not care about the affairs of man can be alluring. It also seems to be the basis of the view that a dispassionate and uninterested evolutionary force gave birth to life. It is rather freeing to believe that nothing “up there,” or anywhere, cares about what you think, say, or do; you are able to do whatever you want. This means, of course, that anybody can do whatever they want to you as well. Those who speak of universal morality fail to realize that there is no universal morality if there is no God. They try to replace universal and absolute morality with other social systems that might prove temporarily useful, but once the current situation ends, then the need for that specific social system also ends. The result is perpetual return to relativism and the ensuing, silent chaos.
On the other hand, some people want to believe in God as a means to safeguarding humanity by establishing universal and absolute notions of morality. However, they realize that "this God's" existence places a restriction on their pursuit of pleasure, While providing them with the safety of an unchanging notion of morality, they are not prepared for this exchange and in the end, many people choose fun over morality.
Most people do not consciously realize the philosophical, theological, and ethical implications of evolution, but subconsciously they realize that it is a philosophy of agnostic freedom, and even though they may speak highly of morality and justice, a world of agnostic freedom can never achieve those things, it can never achieve peace. This is double talk. Some people want their cake and to eat it too. They want morality, but not such a complete system of morality that would affect all sectors of life. In other words, give God a corner to sit in and tell Him to stay put. This is one way of understanding the verse, "The heavens are heavens of the Lord, but the earth He gave to the children of men." (Psalms 115:16)
It is hypocritical to want morality and justice while saying that God does not exist, which is to accept morality and justice just as long as they sound romantic. Morality and justice ricochet and suggest that these same concepts must curb some of their sensual tendencies. If values limit people of their freedom, some will abandon their values for freedom. Some preach morality loudly, but only so that it defends their rights to do as they please. This is selfish morality, it is a corruption of morality. It is the right thing for the wrong reason, which turns it into the wrong thing. It is not based on a concern for the whole of mankind; it does not defend the rights of homosexual union, for example, from a belief that homosexuality is a right, but it defends it to claim their own right to engage in any sexual behavior that they desire. As long as homosexuality is acceptable they might rationalize that any sort of sexual pleasure is justified so long as it is heterosexual. And yet heterosexuals are not off the hook by any means. Plenty of heterosexual wrongs are committed and cannot be ignored simply because there is something less acceptable.
It is a society of rights then, and not a society of obligation; it is my right to be free and therefore to do anything that I want, which is more important than my obligation. In fact, even intelligent people who understand and proclaim that the world functions as a whole refrain from criticizing certain behaviors lest they appear bigoted and intolerant. They are more influenced by the times than by an unchanging notion of morality; they care more about what the times dictate is proper than what they know to be proper.
When society rots, it rots from the inside out like a bowl of fruit. It is hard to conceive that there is an inherent relationship between all evil things. Even things that seem distant and unrelated to other are intimately connected. For example, while lying and violence do not seem to be related to each other in any way, what they have in common is desensitization to moral perception. This concept can be applied to all areas of society, which is it is important to understand that all sectors of society can be damaged by an evil committed in one area. It is untrue that acts of injustice and corruption are isolated. It is harsh, but if there is no remedial activity, either the molded piece must be cut from the fruit, or the molded fruit must be removed from the whole. A type of mold gives spread to a more aggressive type of mold. Unfortunately, we cannot see the mold but only its effect, it is everywhere and closely linked to our most positive desires; evil is not personified as a person – we must see that the person acts wrongly but that the wrongness is separate from his or her being. Luckily, thank God, a human can be rehabilitated, unlike a molding fruit, and unlike the fruit, we have free will; we can resist the mold for we were molded in God’s image.
This type of morality is like lust compared to love: lust commands no regulations and no limits, but true love does. Lust is holy in the context of love, while love is trash in the context of lust. Lust is romantic, and many people who love someone find that lust is a part of their relationship more than actual love, and lust has a short half-life, but when one finds true love, the notion of romance is entirely altered; love becomes the pillar of the relationship and lust becomes an added bonus in the context of that love. In the end, lust falls apart and love remains strong; a lust with the world will cause the world to break apart, but a love for the world will cause it to remain together. Love is mature and discerning and daring, lust is foolish and silly and cowardly. The commandment is to “love your neighbor as (you love) yourself” and not “lust after your neighbor as you lust after yourself.” In both cases the latter is easy (or easier) to do once the first is accomplished. Once the latter is accomplished (love/lust yourself), the former (love/lust your neighbor) is almost hard to stop. That is why love is the relationship between God and humanity; any relationship between God and humanity that frees humanity in any way is not love, it is lust, and it is not Godly.
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